Slow Cooker Beef Stew

I made this recipe a few days after my slow cooker boeuf bourguignon.  One morning, I found myself with some stewing beef in the fridge that was about to go bad, nothing for dinner, and two whiny kids who had just woken up and were hungry.  And what did I decide to do????  Whip together this recipe on my way out the door.  

Did I mention that this was a work day?  

So this recipe earned its tagged credit as a quick supper, because I actually managed to whip this up while the kids sipped their smoothies, while also finishing some last minute preparation for my clients.  That's right folks.  Just call me super crazy (and I write that with Superman-like intonation).

In reading the recipe, I thought it would be somewhat bland.  It actually turned out to be pretty yummy.  And given that it literally takes only minutes to throw together, I think this might turn into one of our go-to meals when I'm short on time.  The only downside to this recipe is that it's not freezer-friendly, as potatoes tend to not do well in the freezer.  And also, that my kids won't eat it.  But we still managed to finish it in a few days.

Slow Cooker Beef Stew
 
1/4 all-purpose flour (I used a gf flour mix)
salt and black pepper
2 lbs. stewing beef
1 tbsp. vegetable oil
2 onions, quartered
4 carrots, peeled and sliced (I chose baby carrots to speed up prep)
4 to 6 potatoes, peeled and quartered
1 C beef stock (for gf, choose a gf brand)
1 small can (221 mL) tomato sauce
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1 bay leaf

1.  In a bowl, season flour to taste with salt and pepper.  Pat meat dry and coat on all sides with seasoned flour.

 
2.  In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat.  Add meat and cook, turning with a wooden spoon, for 7 to 10 minutes or until    brown on all sides.  Transfer meat to slow cooker.

 
3.  Add onions to slow cooker, along with carrots, potatoes, stock, tomato sauce, garlic, thyme and bay leaf. 

 
4.  Cover and cook on Low for 10 to 12 hours or on High for 6 to 8 hours, until vegetables are tender.

 
Serves 6 to 8. 

Difficulty level: easy       

Note: this dish can be completely assembled up to 12 hours in advance of cooking.

Adapted from Canada's Best Slow Cooker Recipes.   
 

Vegetarian Korma

My brother-in-law made this for us for dinner while we were staying with them over the holidays.  More on that shortly.  

This recipe is absolutely delicious.  A new absolute favourite of mine.  One of the best recipes I've made in a long time.  But let's face it... hot dogs and canned corn don't really count as a recipe.  Well, they do in my new world.  Which is why I haven't blogged many recipes lately...

I served this to company this weekend, along with Brandi's delicious avocado and cranberry salad, and got rave reviews.  Even though I kind of messed it up while making it.  

Ya see... I have this issue with reading recipes.  Or more with NOT reading recipes, I should say.  You'd think I'd learn from past mishaps.  But nope.  I still dive right into recipes without fully reading them until it's too late.

My brother-in-law suggested I parboil the potatoes before adding them in.  Oops.  Should have done that.  Slipped my mind.  I ended up needing to leave this to simmer forever.  You might also want to throw the carrots in with the onions, as I find that they took a long time to cook as well. 

Also, my brother-in-law mentioned that the potatoes mush down and tend to blend into the sauce.  That didn't happen at all with mine.  I used red potatoes.  I am clearly not a potato connoisseur as that waas not the right choice.  But they were on sale.  What's a girl to do?  I guess next time I'll try plain old white potatoes and see how that goes.

The recipe also says to grind the sunflower seeds.  Which I had thought I'd read.  But when I went to make it, I couldn't find the word "ground" anywhere in the recipe.  I read it twice.  I swear.  As it turns out, that little word "ground" was sitting right in front of the words sunflower seeds.  Go figure.  It was only once I had thrown in the whole sunflower seeds that the word "ground" jumped right out at me.  Oops.  I prayed for the best and it turned out just fine.  Mine obviously had less smooth of a texture than my brother-in-law's, but it was still good. 

My next attempt to make this will be in the slow cooker.  With some meat.  Maybe chicken or lamb???  But this is absolutely fantastic just as it is.

1 1/2 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 small onion, diced
2 tsp. minced fresh ginger root
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 potatoes, cubed
4 carrots, cubed
1 fresh jalapeno pepper, seeded and sliced
3 tbsp. ground raw sunflower seeds (or cashews)
1 (4 oz.) can tomato sauce
2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. curry powder
1 tsp. garam masala
1 C frozen green peas
1/2 green bell papper, chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped 
1 can of coconut milk
1 bunch fresh cilantro for garnish 

1.  Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat.  Stir in the onion and cook until tender.  

2.  Mix in ginger and garlic and continue cooking 1 minute.  Mix potatoes, carrots, jalapeno, sunflower seeds and tomato sauce.  Season with salt and curry powder.  Cook and stir 10 minutes, or until potatoes are tender.

3.  Stir peas, bell peppers and coconut milk into the skillet.  Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 10 minutes.  Garnish with cilantro to serve.

Serve with rice or quinoa - quinoa is particularly idea for its protein content, given the lower protein content of this dish.

Difficulty level: moderate  

Serves 4 - 6 people 

This recipe is freezer friendly if you leave out the potatoes.       

Inspired by: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/vegetarian-korma/
 

Make-Ahead All-Dressed Mashed Potatoes

This recipe came in the Kraft Canada What's Cooking Fall 2011 edition. I made this to go with supper last night and it was quite tasty. I likely won't make it super often, as it's not exactly the healthiest of side dishes, but it was a nice change from our standard fare. You don't need to add any additional salt to the potatoes, as the bacon makes it salty enough.

2 1/2 lb. Yukon gold potatoes (about 6), peeled, cut into 1-inch chunks

2 tbsp. non-hydrogenated margarine

1 C sour cream, divided (I used low-fat)

1/2 C chopped fresh chives, divided (I left this out, as I didn't have any)

1 pkg. real bacon pieces, divided - I think this refers to the packaged, precooked bacon pieces. I used real bacon, using maybe 8 slices, cooked and crumbled

1 C cheddar cheese, shredded

1.  Cook potatoes in boiling water 15 to 20 minutes, or until tender; drain.  Return potatoes to pot.  Add margarine and 2/3 C sour cream; mash until potatoes are smooth.  Stir in 2/3 each of the chives and bacon.

2.  Spread into a 13x9-inch baking dish sprayed with cooking spray.  Cool to room temperature; cover.  Refrigerate up to 24 hours.  Remove from refrigerator 20 minutes before baking.

3.  Heat oven to 400 degrees Farenheit.  Bake potatoes, covered, 20 to 25 minutes or until heated through.  Sprinkle with cheese; bake, uncovered, 3 to 5 minutes or until melted.  Serve topped with remaining sour cream, chives and bacon.

To bake immediately after mashing, bake (uncovered) in 400 degree Farenheit oven 10 minutes or until heated through.  Sprinkle with cheese; bake, uncovered, 3 to 5 minutes or until melted.

Makes 14 servings.

Grilled Potato Salad with Ceasar Dressing

 This is another of the salads that I made while my family was down this past weekend. It's quick and easy to make and I much prefer it to a traditional potato salad (which I have to admit, I don't really like).  I wouldn't add any salt at all to the potatoes, as the store-bought ceasar dressing and bacon (even though I bought low-sodium bacon) have more than enough and the salad ends up way too salty if you add even a bit of salt to the recipe.

24 small new potatoes, red or white
2 tbsp. olive oil
salt and freshly ground pepper
8 oz. cooked bacon, cut into pieces
2 green onions, thinly sliced
1/2 C ceasar salad dressing (I use Renée's light)
shaved fresh Parmesan cheese

1.  Place potatoes with skins on in a saucepan.  Cover with cold water.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.  Drain well.

2.  Cut potatoes in half.  Place in a bowl.  Add olive oil and salt and pepper.  Toss to coat.  Place in a grill basket and grill over medium heat 15-20 minutes or until lightly browned, turning occasionally.  Alternatively, you can cook them in the oven at 450 degrees Farenheit for 35 minutes, turning once halfway through.



3.  Meanwhile, in a skillet, cook bacon until crisp.  Drain on paper towels and tear into pieces.

4.  Place potatoes in a bowl.  Add bacon, onions and ceasar dressing.  Toss to coat.  Add additional salt and pepper to taste.

5.  Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Chicken Curry

I got this recipe back in undergrad, many moons ago, from my roommate at the time, Aleya. This is an authentic homemade chicken curry and is delicious. I haven't made it in absolute ages and am not sure why... I think it may be because it doesn't freeze well, due to the potatoes. Though I suppose I could always just make it without the potatoes to freeze it and add them in the day I'm serving it. I served this with brown basmati rice and a salad.

This recipe makes quite a decent portion. I made it when we had people over for dinner this weekend and 5 of us ate it for dinner. I think there was enough leftover for Jerome and myself to eat it for another 3 dinners.

3 C chicken, skinned and cut into pieces
5 tbsp. oil (I just used a bit)
2 large onions, finely chopped
1 tin peeled tomatoes, chopped (I used the large can)
5 potatoes, peeled and chopped
2 tbsp. tomato paste
1 tsp. garlic paste
1 tsp. ginger paste (be sure to use fresh ginger and not powder, as it's not at all the same)
2 tsp. dried coriander
2 tsp. dried cumin
1/2 tsp. turmeric
1/2 tsp. red chili powder
3 tbsp. plain yogurt (optional)
salt to taste
lemon juice to taste



1. Heat the oil in a medium sized saucepan. Add the onions and fry until golden brown. Add the tomatoes, salt, ginger, garlic and all the powdered spices. Fry on low heat for 10 minutes, adding a little water at a time, until sauce is well blended.

2. Add yogurt (optional) and tomato paste and cook until sauce is dry. Add the meat and cook on medium heat, stirring occasionally until meat juices are dry.

3. Add 2-3 cups of water to desired consistency (the gravy should be quite thick if it is to be served with naan, paratha or rotli and slightly runny if it is to be served with rice).

4. When meat is tender, add potatoes and cook until potatoes are done.

5. Add lemon juice. Bring to a boil and serve with naan, paratha, rotli or rice.

Garlic and Cumin Potatoes

I had been talking to Heather about this recipe and promised her that I'd get it up on my blog before the baby comes. So I made these to accompany dinner the other night. This recipe comes from the June 2004 edition of the Betty Crocker Grill It! magazine. Although the recipe below says to cook these on the bbq, I tend to make them in the oven by cooking them at 450 degrees Farenheit for 35 minutes, turning them halfway through.

For some odd reason, I've never used the fresh cilantro, even though this is an ingredient that I rarely leave out of recipes. They're pretty good without, but I'm sure they'd be even better with the added flavour of the cilantro. I made a double batch and kept leftovers in the fridge to heat up with dinner all week.

12 unpeeled small red potatoes, cut into fourths
2 tbsp. butter or margarine, melted (I use 1 tbsp. butter/margarine and 1 tbsp. water)
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. peppered seasoned salt
1/4 C chopped fresh cilantro



1. Heat coals or gas grill for direct heat. Place potatoes in large bowl. Add remaining ingredients except cilantro; toss to coat. Place in grill basket.

2. Cover and grill potatoes 4 to 6 inches from medium heat 10 to 15 minutes, shaking basket or stirring potatoes frequently, until tender.

3. Sprinkle potatoes with cilantro; toss to coat.

Make 4 servings.

Greek Potatoes

I think that I randomly found this recipe on the internet awhile back, but have no idea anymore where it originated from. I don't make it often, as there's lots of oil in it and I have healthier recipes for potatoes. But these are delicious and accompany the lamb roast that I made for Easter dinner tonight super well (happy Easter to everyone, in passing!!).

I didn't bother peeling the potatoes, as we like them with the skins on, used way more garlic than the recipe called for and put in the juice of 2 full lemons instead of 1 - 1 1/2 because I love lemons. Ours won't be quite as golden-brown/crispy as they should be, as the lamb had to cook at a lower temperature, so I had to compromise (wouldn't a second stove come in handy some days??). Everything is in the oven cooking as I write this and my mouth is watering from the smell. Though I'll wait to get a picture before actually posting this. I should run and get some veggies on before everything else is ready.

8 large potatoes, peeled, cut into large wedges (about 6-7 wedges per potato)
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 C olive oil
1 C water
1 tbsp. oregano
juice of 1 - 1/2 lemons
sea salt
ground pepper



1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Farenheit. Put all of the ingredients into a baking pan large enough to hold them. Season generously with salt and pepper.

2. Bake for 40 minutes. When a nice golden-brown crust has formed on the potatoes, given them a stir to bring the white underside up, season lightly with a bit more sea salt and pepper and just a light sprinkling of oregano. Add 1/2 C more water if pan appears to be getting dry and put back in the oven for another 40 minutes. Don't be afraid of overcooking the potatoes.

Baked Potato and Leek Soup with Cheddar and Bacon

I got this recipe from April a few years back and continue to make it at least a few times every winter. It's one of my husband's favourites. I usually buy a few bunches of leeks at the end of fall, when they're much cheaper than in the winter. I slice them and freeze them in the portion required for this soup and then take them out whenever I feel like making this. Unfortunately, the soup doesn't freeze very well itself, due to the potatoes. But it's good enough that you'll be able to finish it without freezing it.

2 medium baked potatoes
1/4 C butter (optional)
2 1/2 C sliced leeks
2 garlic cloves
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
2 C water
2 C chicken broth
4 slices bacon, cut into pieces
1/2 C milk
1/2 C sour cream (I use the fat-free)
1 C grated sharp cheddar
2 tbsp. sliced green onions



1. Wash potatoes and bake in the oven until tender. Set aside to cool. Melt butter over medium heat (I skip this step). Add leeks and garlic, season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally until softened, about 10 minutes.

2. Add broth and water. Simmer over medium heat and cook until leeks are tender, about 20 minutes.

3. Cook bacon until brown and crisp. Drain on paper towel.

4. Cut potatoes in half lengthwise. Use a large spoon to scoop pulp into 1/2 inch cubes and set aside. Coarsely chop potato skin and entire remaining potato and add to pot with leeks.

5. In a blender or food processor, purée in batches. Return puréed soup to a clean pot and reheat over medium-low. In a small bowl, whisk together milk and sour cream until smooth, then whisk into soup with 1/2 C of cheddar. Stir in diced potato.

6. If soup is too thick, it may be thinned with a little water.

7. Season to taste and garnish with remaining cheddar, bacon and chives.

For a vegetarian version, just omit the bacon bits and use vegetable instead of chicken broth.

Makes 4 servings.

Joining the blogging world... one recipe at a time

So I've decided to start a food-related blog on Steph's suggestion. Clearly she knows that I both love to talk and love food. So her suggestion that I might enjoy constantly writing about food was right on. I figure that this is a good medium for me to share some of the recipes that I have come across in my unending quest for wonderful recipes.

Anyone who knows me knows that I love to cook, love to eat and love to have people over to cook for. Perhaps not in that order. I sometimes can't wait to have a family so that the food can disappear more quickly and I can cook more. I quite enjoy pouring over cookbooks, picking out new recipes as the seasons change. I love exploring grocery stores in new countries to find odd and exotic items. And we often spend much time dodging the Agriculture Canada dogs at the airport upon return from our travels, so that our newest finds don't get confiscated - such as the mass quantities of vanilla we just brought back from Tahiti.

In any case, I guess I'll see what this develops into and how long I keep doing this. I'll start by posting the recipe that Steph had mentioned she wanted from me, as well another that I threw in as a bonus (ha!). Enjoy!

Baked Brie, Potatoes, Ham and Eggs

This is a favourite for brunch... right Katie?

· 4 large potatoes (1.125 kg)
· 1 tsp. olive oil
· 8 oz. brie cheese, diced
· 1 C finely chopped ham
· ¼ C each chopped fresh parsley and sliced green onions
· ¼ tsp. pepper
· salt to taste
· 8 eggs
· pinch of paprika

1. Cook potatoes until tender but firm, about 15 minutes; drain well. Refrigerate until cold. Cut into 1/4 –inch cubes.

2. Fry potatoes in oil, stirring often, until crisp and golden, about 10 minutes. Let cool. Stir in Brie, ham, parsley, onions, pepper and salt. Transfer to greased baking dish, spreading evenly. Make 8 wells in mixture.

3. Heat in 400°F oven until warm, about 15 minutes. Scramble eggs and pour over potatoes. Bake, uncovered, until eggs are set approximately 30 minutes.

Makes 8 servings.

Variations:
Smoked salmon can be substituted for the ham.


Lentil Feta Salad

This recipe makes a great summer lunch and is perfect for bbqs or potlucks.

· ½ C slivered almonds
· 1 C dried green lentils
· 2 cloves garlic
· ¼ C olive oil
· 3 tbsp. red wine vinegar
· 1 tbsp. finely chopped fresh oregano
· ¼ tsp. salt and pepper
· 1 ½ C diced cucumber
· 1 C halved cherry tomatoes
· ½ C diced sweet or red onion
· 2 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
· ¾ C crumbled feta cheese

1. In small dry skillet, toast almonds over medium heat, stirring often, until golden, about 5 minutes. Set aside. (ok, I often skip this step because I'm too lazy - but I'm sure it'd be even tastier if I did this).

2. Bring large pot of salted water to boil. Add lentils and garlic; reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, until tender, about 20 minutes. Discard garlic. (ok, I also use canned lentils. Again, laziness.).

3. In large bowl, whisk together oil, vinegar, oregano, salt and pepper. Add lentils, cucumber, tomatoes, onion and parsley; toss to coat.

4. Stir in almonds and feta. If serving at a bbq or special function, you may want to sprinkle a bit of feta on top.

For a vegan version, omit the feta cheese.

Makes 6 servings.